Fort Worth Marches for Cesar Chavez
It comes as no surprise to long time Jobs with Justice activists that Gerardo Contreras, leader of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, organizes Cesar Chavez events in North Texas. Chavez' birthday, March 31, is celebrated across America. This year, Gerardo helped build a march through downtown and a rally on the TCJC campus. We started from the downtown convention center at 4 PM. One hundred strong, and full of energy, the crowd of Latinos and other Chavez supporters marched down Main and around the City Hall.
The lead truck had three musicians who sang traditional farm worker songs such as “De Colores.” The crowd punctuated every line of every song with shouts of “Viva Cesar Chavez!” or “Viva Dolores Huerta” and the response, “Que Viva!” From time to time, the rhythmic chanting changed to “Se Puede?” and the response, “Si, se puede!” (“Can it be done?” and “Yes, it can be done!”
In the crowd, United Auto Workers 848 President Romeo Munoz carried the UAW flag. State Representative Lon Burnam was a popular figure. He said that Fort Worth will soon follow Dallas in naming a street after the great farm worker organizer. Fort Worth actually had two marches and two rallies on March 27!
Gerardo Contreras is organizing a fiesta to further celebrate Cesar Chavez. It is to be held at UAW 848 hall beginning at 11 AM on Saturday, April 3.